Every evening, Soren walks past the stone chess table in the park on his way home from work. Someone always leaves one piece moved from the day before. At first, he barely notices, since the table sees plenty of casual players.
每天傍晚，索伦下班回家的路上都会经过公园里的那张石头棋桌。总有人会把前一天的棋子挪动一步。起初，他几乎没有注意，因为这张桌子上有很多随便来玩的人。
But after a week, he realizes the moves form a real, careful game. Whoever is playing white moves once each evening, always before Soren arrives. He starts to wonder who has the patience for such a slow match. Soren learned chess from his grandfather as a boy, though he hasn't played anyone in years.
但是一个星期之后，他发现这些走法组成了一盘真正的、认真下的棋。执白棋的人每天傍晚走一步，总是在索伦到达之前。他开始想，是谁有耐心下这么慢的棋。索伦小时候跟爷爷学过国际象棋，不过已经好多年没跟人下过了。
One night, Soren decides to answer. He studies the board for ten minutes, then moves a black piece of his own. He isn't sure anyone will notice, but leaving the reply feels satisfying anyway. Walking home, he already finds himself thinking about his next move.
一天晚上，索伦决定回应。他研究了十分钟棋盘，然后走了一步自己的黑棋。他不确定会不会有人注意到，但留下这个回应，还是让他觉得很满足。走路回家的时候，他已经在想自己的下一步了。
The next evening, white has moved again, faster than before, almost eagerly. The game continues like this for nearly three weeks, entirely in silence. Neither player has said a single word or left a note. Soren starts checking a chess app on his phone before each move. He wants to be sure he isn't missing anything obvious.
第二天傍晚，白棋又走了一步，比以前更快，几乎有些迫不及待。这盘棋就这样继续了将近三个星期，完全是在沉默中。两个人谁都没有说过一个字，也没有留过纸条。索伦开始在每次走棋之前，先在手机上的象棋应用里查一查。他想确保自己没有漏掉什么明显的东西。
By the final week, Soren's position looks strong, though the opponent still finds clever ways to survive. One evening, he arrives early and waits on a nearby bench instead of leaving right away. He wants, just once, to see who has played against him all this time.
到最后一个星期，索伦的局面看起来很有利，不过对手仍然能找到巧妙的办法坚持下去。一天傍晚，他早早到了，没有马上离开，而是在旁边的长椅上等着。他想，哪怕只有一次，也要看看这么久以来一直和他对弈的是谁。
An older man named Vance walks up, studies the board, then looks around and spots Soren watching. "You've gotten better since we started," Vance says with a grin. "I used to beat everyone at this table without trying." Soren laughs and finally sits down across from him to finish the game properly. He is already planning next week's rematch.
一位名叫万斯的老先生走了过来，研究了一下棋盘，然后环顾四周，看见了正在观望的索伦。“从我们开始下以来，你进步了不少，”万斯笑着说，“我以前在这张桌子上不费力气就能赢所有人。”索伦笑了，终于在他对面坐下来，把这盘棋好好下完。他已经在盘算下个星期的复赛了。
